Cheating Death (one more time to make it right)
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: Kuradeel survived Kirito's final blow. Now struggling to stay out of anyone's way to survive, Kuradeel has to come to matters with himself and figure out what else he can do now. And it won't be easy—for him or anyone else.
1. 1 HP

**Author note: I don't own Sword Art Online, or else I would have expanded upon Kuradeel's character a lot more! XDD**

 **So, I just got into the Sword Art Online fandom, and I strangely took an appeal towards Kuradeel. I felt super bad that he got killed early on and I wanted to try something out with him. So...what if Kuradeel survived Kirito's final blow? If he got away with just one HP left and cheated death?**

 ** _What would he do if he survived?_** **And that made me think and want to write this fanfic.**

 **Warning: Kuradeelsurvives!AU, takes place during chapter 15 of the light novel (yes, I'm going along with what happened in the light novel version (specifically Sword Art Online: Aincrad vol 1 if you must know)) where Kirito strikes Kuradeel with "Embracer," violence, swearing, made up backstory for Kuradeel and more warnings will be put up if necessary.**

 **I hope that you read, review and enjoy! XD Constructive Criticism is great! XD Thanks! XDDD**

* * *

 ** _Cheating Death (one more time to make it right)_**

* * *

 **00\. 1 HP**

Pain seared in his chest.

 _"Embracer."_

He nearly dropped his greatsword, surprised.

He'd left himself open, Kirito took a risk and...

 _And he lost._

He lost to some loser, some _fool—!_

Kuradeel gritted his teeth, his silver bangs falling over his eyes. If he didn't move, he would allow all his HP to fall to zero, and he would die.

 _He would die._

He was too sure that his lip was bleeding as he pulled away, his spare hand fumbling for a crystal, something, _anything._ Although he'd handed over crystals earlier before they went to this floor, he hadn't given them all of his crystals. He kept something, but forgot what.

He just hoped it was a teleportation crystal as he held it high in the air.

 _"T-teleport—!"_

He couldn't remember what happened after that.

* * *

He woke up later on soft, grassy ground, but pain still remained.

Where was he?

He didn't tryto move, a raspy breath escaping his throat as he fumbled for his greatsword. It was on the ground just in front of him. He reached for it—not to use as a weapon, but as a crutch. The sun was not shining, or if it was, it was getting dark. His vision blurred briefly, then became clear after a few blinks of his eyes.

He'd teleported himself outside, somewhere. No idea which level it was, but he would guess it was somewhere safer, judging by the lack of monsters around the area. There were only lower level ones.

Wait...he knew this place. It was Sunshine Forest, on floor 20.

So he wasn't in danger, he figured as he looked beneath him, around him. Multiple layers of cobblestone walls with a plot of grass atop each layer...he was in a safe zone. He could stay here as long as needed.

But...how? Was he alive? That crystal he used (he groaned again as he tried to sit up) was a teleportation crystal, not a healing one. Unless...

Holding his chest with one hand, aware that he was bleeding, painfully bleeding, he checked his HP with the other.

1 HP.

 _1 HP remaining._

He'd gotten away with that much, a mere inch of his life.

His mind went into a frenzy instantaneously, clutching his chest still, his hand trying to lift his greatsword.

Could he lose all his HP by bleeding to death? I-if that was the case, he could die here. Alone. Dropping his greatsword, he let it lie on the grassy ground beside as he then looked to the insigma of the Laughing Coffin on his hand.

That guild would assume that he died...and the Knights of the Blood would believe him dead. Surely news of what he tried to do to Kirito and Asuna (and successfuly did to Godfrey and that other member) would have reached Heathcliff by now, would have reached even everyone by now in Aincrad.

He needed to stay low _(and more importantly get his HP back up to normal)._

Cursing himself and his dumb luck, he managed to remove his jacket, pressing it against his chest in an attempt to slow the bleeding as he curled up on the safe area's ground and let himself fall asleep. If he died, well...

At least he'd die in his sleep if he died right now, if anything. Much better than dying when in pain.

* * *

His chest didn't hurt when he woke up again, still in the safe area.

What? He sat up quickly (and that was also painless) and he put a hand to his chest, pulling down the jacket also to look.

No scars. Where Kirito had stabbed him...the rips in his clothes remained, but there was not even a scratch remaining on his being. Checking his HP, he found out hat it was completely refiled.

That shouldn't be possible, unless...did someone heal him in his sleep? But who? And why?

Picking himself up, he lifted his greatsword and sheathed it, glancing around him using his Searching skill to see if there was anyone or anything nearby. No. No one. He then took out his greatsword, looking to it quietly, and then to his hair, his long silver hair...

He would cut it. And change his clothes. He doubted that anyone would trust someone who was covered in blood. With caution he held a bunch of his hair, lifting his greatsword with the other, intending to chop it...

And then he realized the insigma of the Laughing Coffin on his wrist was gone.

They must have assumed that he was dead and removed him from the guild. He frowned, chopping downwards and only moments later chunks of hair lay on the ground. Running a hand through his now shortened hair, he winced. It felt strange feeling the breeze against his neck, having been used to his hair being long, but he knew that that was the least of his worries.

The most of his worries now was the Knights of the Blood, the Laughing Coffin, and anyone else that may want him dead for what he did.

Sheathing his greatsword, he quickly looked into his inventory. Any spare clothing? No. Of course not. He wouldn't bring any along, he would usually leave it back at the Guild...

He swore aloud, looking about. For now he'd stay low. He'd have to find clothes by either stealing it from someone or buying it, and if he walked into a shop he was sure that he'd be recognized instantly.

Stealing would be what he resorted to for now.

Taking a deep breath, he walked out of the safe zone.

He needed to get to a village and get a change of clothes, and he was damn sure that something usually simple as that would be harder than usual now that he was recognized as a criminal.


	2. Avatar

**Author note: Remember in the past Author's note where I mentioned that I was following this through the light novel version? I think I might be _accidentally blending the anime world and the light novel world together_ _a bit._ So...just thought I'd warn you in case you spot something and think "Hey wait, this is only from the anime version!" or something. I'm doing my best to do my research so that things in the fanfic make sense, so any pointers would be nice if I miss something or if something doesn't make sense in either the anime or light novel versions. Thanks! XD**

* * *

 **01\. Avatar**

He managed to make his way out of Sunshine Forest and into Coral Village without any real hassle, which was good. He picked up a few potions and herbs, and even a few furs that the monsters dropped. He could sell the furs, keep the potions and herbs. He found no crystals, however, which was not good. Crystals were meant for backup healing, and teleportation. He forgot how much the crystals cost, but maybe he could get enough Col to buy some. He still had some Col with him at the moment even before he stepped out of the safe zone, but it wasn't much as he'd left the rest of it at the Guild in a safe.

He wondered what they were doing now back at the Knights of the Blood. He had some good reason to think that they raided his room after hearing of the incident.

Clothes, he reminded himself. He needed to buy clothes...or steal them, depending on the situation.

His stomach then growled, reminding him of the need to eat. Although the food in this world wouldn't really give him nutrition in real life, at least he would feel like a fed man. Deciding it was best to save his money for better things than food, he purchased the cheap, black bread for one Col, doing his best to swallow the dry food. There was much better, more filling food back with the KNights of the Blood, but for now this would suffice.

Now, the issue was clothes.

And shit, they were _not_ as cheap as he hoped in this village. After much sales negotiation (which was a skill he was not great at, as he found out) with some of the NPCs that sold clothes and armor, he managed to trade his Knights of the Blood clothing for a simple, black cloak with a plain brown tunic and some decent boots, meant for walking. He did keep his greatsword though, and with almost all the rest of his Col he got himself a decent quality chest plate and greaves.

It wasn't great. There was better armor at Knights of the Blood and the Laughing Coffin, but this would have to do until he earned more Col. But first...

Kuradeel took the time to take a deep breath. That helped. He needed his mind to be clear. Perhaps finding a place for him to live in besides safezones in the wild would be a good idea. Knowing that there were log houses in this village, he decided to try the

* * *

A log house on the 22nd floor cost _5,000,000 Col!?_ That was far too much. Even he didn't have that much back with the KoB.

Knowing that there was a Teleportation Gate in this village, he went to it, using it to go straight to Tolbana town. He knew that he'd have to rent a place there in order to stay there, but he could get the second floor of some NPC farm's house for one night for 80 Col, complete with two rooms larger than 20 jō, a large bedroom and decent bathroom and even free milk. A much better bargain for now.

Kuradeel promised himself that he would find himself some permanent place to stay, if he could. He could pay rent just by slaying monsters in a heartbeat on the 1st floor. It would be far too easy to pay rent, and therefore he could easily be in such decent housing every single night. He could stay out of anyone's radar for now. It wasn't uncommon for people of a higher level like himself to train at lower levels to get quick money and experience, after all.

One of his skills was Drug Mixing, the same skill that he'd used to poison Kirito and Godfrey's water. But he could easily use it to make medicine and _maybe_ makeup. Didn't makeup just come from a bunch of chemicals mixed together? Standing in the bathroom, he looked to his wrist quietly again, checking the results of the attempted makeup he'd tried to mix together (after collecting various herbs and seeing if he could make it into some kind of paste).

As much as he didn't feel like putting on makeup, he might have no choice. Especially if the Knights of the Blood somehow found out that he was alive and not dead and decided to hunt him down. He had a feeling that might happen. Yes, he might not be well known like Heathcliff or Asuna, but surely they would have heard of him, since he was Asuna's bodyguard once upon a time.

And as for the long gone Laughing Coffin insigma...he frowned as he looked to where it once was on his wrist. The lack of the insigma probably meant that they removed him from the guild. They were probably watching him fight it out with Kirito, and Asuna, and watched him fail. Even when he'd teleported away, they probably assumed that he would die anyway and therefore removed him.

If they were to find him alive, he wasn't quite sure as of what they would do. But he was sure that they wouldn't be happy about his failure, and he decided that it was best to avoid their sights, too.

Hence the makeup. If he could get it to look natural _without_ making him stick out that is! He thought that creating fake scars n his face with makeup would be easy, but apparently not. Scowling, he washed off the makeup failure. He'd deal with it more tomorrow. It was far too late in the night already as it was. Charging out of the bathroom after cleaning up, he promptly collapsed on his bed in the bedroom after throwing his cloak onto a nearby chair.

He had no friends in this world. Not even the Knights of the Blood or anyone from the Laughing Coffin counted as friends that were on his contacts list. And having no one on his contacts list was both good and bad. Bad in the sense that there was no one to back him up if he got in trouble, but good because it would make it harder for anyone from the Laughing Coffin or the KoB to track him down.

A sigh escaped him as he lay on his back, deciding to sleep. He would be safe here tonight, at least. As for tomorrow...hell, what was he going to do now? He was going to be on the run, that was for certain, from KoB and possibly the Laughing Coffin. He could not get Asuna _(if anything, he could imagine Kirito proposing to her and that made him sick)_ and he could not lay a hand on Kirito.

Kirito.

 _Kirito._

Kuradeel decided right then what he could do.

He would train. To beat Kirito and show him that he was not necessarily the best player in Sword Art Online. Heathcliff beat him before, so surely Kirito obviously wasn't that powerful enough to beat the game yet. Kirito was going to be working away and improving himself as he went to try to beat the game and completely be with Asuna, yes?

Kuradeel swore to himself that he'd work twice as much as him and stay undercover until the time came to duel again.

That is, if he survived that long to run into Kirito again, that is. And only if Kirito didn't try to kill him already on first sight before Kuradeel could challenge him to a one-on-one duel.


	3. Hit Harder

**02\. Hit Harder**

Kuradeel growled as he slashed through the third Frenzy Boar. He knew staying on the low-leveled floors would be easier for him to handle alone. He'd never been solo at all before this. Once Akihiko Kayaba had trapped everyone in Sword Art Online, Kuradeel joined up with guilds as fast as he could, figuring that it was the best way to stay alive. But alas, one guild fell after another and he was forced to continue moving on his own.

Until he ran into the Knights of the Blood, led by Heathcliff. Joining them was an offer he could not refuse, especially once he first met Asuna.

She was younger than him yes, but he'd been astounded by her fierceness in battle. She was the lioness, never once hesitating to attack the foes and take them down. His admiration of her only grew as he worked his way up to becoming her bodyguard. He wanted to be just as good as her.

But yet, she refused his advances, refused to be around him—he didn't quite understand why at the time. Was he just bad at being with women socially? He was an introvert, he admitted to himself. He wasn't exactly great at social interaction. So, he thought maybe trying to be less introverted would help the situation, that being less seemingly shy and more outwards with any courage he had.

But she still didn't accept his advances. So he stopped said advances, or at least made them subtle. Instead, he decided that becoming strong at battle would win her over! She admired the strength of others. If he could prove it, surely she would like him better at least.

But then he got utterly defeated by that _beater_. Kuradeel slashed through a tree with his greatsword, not caring as it fell with a mighty crash.

 _Kirito._

The name was bitter in his mind and even more so on his lips when he spoke it under his breath. He would beat up that...that beater. He would destroy him and beat him to an inch of his life before deciding to grant him mercy so that he would wallow in the despair and mortification of being beaten in battle by someone besides Heathcliff.

They were practically bitter enemies ever since the beginning, weren't they? Kuradeel couldn't help but laugh slightly at that. He would show him. He'd hit Kirito harder than he would have ever been hit. He'd reduce him down to one HP just like Kirito did. He would make Kirito get on his knees and beg for forgiveness for sassing him the first time they encountered one another.

"I'll get you," He whispered softly under his breath. "I will."

He continued to train for the rest of the day until it turned close to dusk.

* * *

He felt hungry. Hadn't had much to eat. He paid rent at the place he was staying at for now and drank the half the jug of milk in one sitting, deciding quickly to save the rest for tomorrow morning before he set off. He supposed he could have grabbed some cheap black bread from an NPC bakery, but decided his safety was better than food. There would be less people out there in the evening, and going out now would therefore make him vulnerable to attack from any other players that might be hunting him down. Better to go along with the morning crowds that got their food then.

He checked his cursor colour—it was still orange. He knew that it would automatically restore back to its green colour over time for the first three crimes committed, but once he committed some crime the fourth time, he'd be forced to complete a quest to restore it. And five kills kept his cursor orange _forever._

He knew that it would forever be orange. Geofrey and the other guy he'd killed earlier were _not_ his first kills.

Well, what now?

Another day of training?

Was this really all he wanted to focus on?

While part of him doubted it, the other part said _yes._

Because he really wanted to put Kirito in his place and show Asuna that he wasn't weak.

But part of this just felt a bit..wrong. He frowned, looking down at the drug mixing set, as he was working on making some healing items and/or makeup for the next day. He tried not to buy too much when he was out, just because healing items could be expensive and he really liked food more than healing at times.

Was this really right to get revenge...?


End file.
